Discovery Supports Biblical Account of Noah's Ark

A new discovery lends support to the Bible's account of Noah's Ark and led researchers to believe they've found the fossilized remains of the vessel.

The Jerusalem Post reported that researchers found that a ship-like mound in Turkey was likely submerged beneath water during a widespread flood event about 5,000 years ago.

The faithful have long believed that the boat-shaped ridge is what's left of the ship that God told Noah to build in the Bible.

The 538-foot geological structure is composed of limonite and located about 20 miles south of Mount Ararat's summit, in Turkey near the Iranian border in the Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı.

Experts from Istanbul Technical University, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University, and Andrews University in the United States have been working as the Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark Research Team to study the Durupinar Formation since 2021.

The formation has interested experts since its discovery in 1948 due to its ship-like shape and dimensions that are similar to the biblical description of Noah's Ark. The Bible lists the Ark's dimensions as "a length of three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits."

At 5,137 meters, Mount Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey and has traditionally been identified as the resting place of Noah's Ark. The Bible's account in Genesis 8:4 states that "the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat."

Rock and soil samples from the site revealed traces of clay-like materials, marine deposits and seafood remnants dating to between 3,500 and 5,000 years ago – when the biblical flood is said to have occurred.

"According to the initial results, it's believed there were human activities in this region since the Chalcolithic period," Prof. Dr. Faruk Kaya, a lead researcher on the team, told the Post.

The marine deposits and seafood remnants suggest the area was once covered with water and bolster theories that a devastating flood occurred in the region as described in a number of religious texts, including the Bible.

"Our studies show that this region harbored life in that period and that, at some point, it was covered by water, which reinforces the possibility that a catastrophic event of great magnitude occurred," the researchers said.

While scientists and scholars continue to debate whether Noah's Ark actually existed, the researchers said that the recent "evidence suggests that the story might have a basis in reality."

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